Rectangular collapsible carton for the shipment of bananas



H. HEEL July 23, 1968 RECTANGULAR COLLAPSIBLE CARTON FOR THE SHIPMENT OFBANANAS Filed May 2, 1967 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 HEEL INVENTOR FIGS HEINZ H.HEEL July 23, 1968 RECTANGULAR COLLAPSIBLE CARTON FOR THE SHIPMENT OFBANANAS Filed May 2, 1967 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG? FIG. 21

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RECTANGULAR COLLAPSIBLE CARTON FOR THE SHIPMENT OF BANANAS Filed May 2,1967 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR HEINZ HEEL United States PatentRECTANGULAR COLLAPSIBLE CARTON FOR THE SHIPMENT OF BANANAS Heinz Heel,Hamburg, Germany, assignor to F. Laeisz, Hamburg, Germany Filed May 2,1967, Ser. No. 635,416

Claims priority, application Germany, Oct. 8, 1966, L 43,176, L 54,75719 Claims. (Cl. 22923) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A collapsible cartonfor transporting and ripening of fruit, and particularly bananas, havingin both its cover portion and its bottom portion a plurality of profilesformed within all sides of the carton for spacing the carton withrespect to adjacent cartons to permit adequate ventilation to reach thecontents stored within the carton. The carton also includes openingsformed within its sides to permit ventilation to reach the contents ofthe carton from the top, bottom, and sides during shipment and storage.

This invention relates to an improved collapsible rectangular carton fortransporting and ripening bananas.

When bananas were first transported in ships and ripened in ctrtons, itwas not possible to pack the cartons in a compact manner in the holds ofships since channels had to be left free in order to guarantee a goodventilation, and thus a quick cooling down of the packed fruit. Thesechannels between cartons cause a considerable waste in space, time andincrease-the risk of the cartons shifting in place. Eventually spacinglaths were packed between the cartons in order to eliminate to someextent the above-described drawbacks. These laths provided sufficientcooling for the freshly packed fruit, but at the expense of aconsiderable and costly waste of space. Moreover, this method ofshipment created additional work and loss of time in loading andunloading the ship since the laths must be manually set in place andlater removed. 1

Because of these considerable disadvantages, the transport cartons wereeventually packed in a compact manner and there were at first nosubstantial difiiculties. In the course of development, however, bananasare now shipped in cartons under riper conditions so that the use ofspace in the cartons has been considerably increased. With compactpacking, an air cushion on the pressure side in the holds of the shipscan be observed. This air cushion is found mainly in ships withhorizontal aeration so that during cooling, temperatures fall belowprescribed temperatures to chill or undercool the fruit and thus causespoilage. The bananas stored on the ventilation side are cooled down tooslowly and have a tendency to turn or begin to ripen.

Up to now, two types of cartons were used for transporting and storingbananas. In one type, the carton is closed so that the contents shouldbe cooled only during transport. In the other type, openings areprovided on the side walls of the cartons, so that the contents may becooled and ventilated. One type of conventional carton for transportingbananas has openings for both ventilation and breathing, but theseopenings are made substantially ineffectual because of the closepacking.

The present invention can be used on both types of banana cartons sincecooling is considerably improved, even when the filled cartons arepacked very tightly. According to the invention a full use of the spacecapacity is obtained even when bananas are loaded with a very highdegree of ripeness since suflicient cooling and internal ventilation areobtained between the packed cartons in spite of very tight packing.

The present invention provides improved collapsible rectangular cartons,with air openings if required, for transporting and ripening bananas andhave the characteristic feature that at least one lower or upper side,one transverse side and one longitudinal side of the exterior walls ofthe carton, or both transverse sides, or only one transverse side out ofthe carton base sides have protruding profiles arranged continuouslyand/ or discontinuously as spacers.

In one particular embodiment of the invention the profiles are providedon all outer sides of the carton. The profiles consist of piecesincorporated in, or applied to, either the cardboard web or thecollapsible carton. The profile pieces applied to the carton may alsoconsist of one or more cardboard discs which are clipped or glued on thecarton,

The profiles on the outer side of the carton which may be continuous orarranged at intervals, may be triangular, square or rounded in shape. Itis also possible to provide profiles which have other geometricalshapes. The profiles are arranged as spacers, so that when the cartonsare stacked, air channels, required for cooling, are formed between thestacked cartons. If the profiles are arranged in a totally or partiallyinterrupted manner, it is preferable to arrange these profiles on theouter side of the carton as half spheres, half ellipses, lenticularhalves, or as cylinders. These profiles consist of cardboard discsapplied to each other and were obtained when the air holes were punched.

In a preferred embodiment, the profiles on the outer sides of the cartonwhich touch each other when stacked are arranged in an offset manner sothat the profiles of one carton touch as much as possible that part ofthe wall of the next carton which has no profiles.

In one particular embodiment the profiles may be completely or partiallyutilized as holding noses so that when stacked they engage complementaryrecesses of the other side of the carton, and so that, in spite of thisarrangement, the required air channels can be maintained between thestacked cartons.

If the profiles are arranged discontinuously, they may also beconstructed in other geometrical shapes as spacer noses or :holdingnoses. It is essential in every case that the discontinuous profilesfunction as spacers to form sufficient air channels. The profilesarranged in a continuous and/ or discontinuous manner are incorporatedin the preferred embodiment into the cardboard material of the bananacarton consisting of a cardboard or cardboard-like material, preferablycorrugated cardboard. It is also possible with great advantage to glueon, clip on, or fasten in any other manner, the continuous and/ ordiscontinuous profiles on conventional banana cartons. In this case theprofiles need not necessarily consist of cardboard since any otherinexpensive material suitable for forming the profiles can be utilizedif it can be attached easily to the carton and can serve as a spacerwhen the filled banana cartons are stacked.

Since the new profiles act as spacers for forming ventilation channelswhen the filled banana cartons are stacked, it is desirable with somevarieties of bananas, depending on their botanical type, for the bottomof the collapsible carton to have additional breathing openings. Thiswill provide the best temperature and air conditions for the bananasduring shipment for both types of cartons. It

'- recommended that strip inserts of wire or sheet metal be incorporatedin the cardboard web and/ or in the material forming the profiles. Theribs of the carton walls and/ or the profiles may also be strengthenedby impregnating them with an inert and fast hardening solution ofsynthetic epoxy resin. The ribs or profiles may also be strengthenedduring manufacturing by reinforcing them with a plastic material.

It is therefore an object according to the present invention to providea carton for shipping and storing bananas which is collapsible andprovides good ventilation for the fruit stored within.

It is another object according to the present invention to provide acollapsible carton for the shipment of bananas which is sufficientlystrong to withstand the stresses and shock of transportation whileprotecting and ventilating its contents.

It is a further object according to the present invention to provide animproved banana shipping carton which is inexpensive to manufacture,easy to assemble, and reliable in use.

Other objects and features of the present invention will become apparentfrom the following detailed description considered in connection withthe accompanying drawings, which disclose the embodiments of the presentinvention. It should be understood, however, that the drawings aredesigned for the purpose of illustration only, and not as a definitionof the limits of the invention, as to which reference should be made inthe appended claims.

In the drawings, wherein similar reference characters denote similarelements throughout the several views:

FIG. 1 shows one embodiment of a rectangular collapsible cartonaccording to the invention prepared for filling with bananas and havingventilation openings along its sides;

FIG. 2 shows an embodiment of a wedge profile in the carton such as maybe utilized on the bottom of the carton of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 shows another embodiment of the carton utilizing roundedprofiles;

FIG. 4 is a detail view of the profiles of the carton shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 shows a further embodiment of the improved banana carton, havingdiscontinuous profiles such as spherical or elliptical halves;

FIG. 6 shows the bottom of the carton of FIG. 5 illustrating anarrangement of the semispherical spacers in the carton wall;

FIG. 7 shows a particular advantage which is obtained when the newcartons are stacked after being filled;

FIG. 8 shows a closed banana transport carton according to the inventionprovided with hemispherical or lenticular profiles;

FIG. 9 shows a corrugated cardboard cutting for the base of the cartonprior to assembly;

FIG. 10 shows the corrugated cardboard cutting for the cover of thecarton prior to assembly;

FIG. 11 shows an insert designed for fitting into the lower carton;

FIG. 12 shows a banana transport carton with numerous ventilatingopenings between its profiles;

FIG. 13 shows the corrugated cardboard cutting for the base of thecarton of FIG. 12 prior to assembly;

FIG. 14 shows the corrugated cardboard cutting for the cover of thecarton of FIG. 12 prior to assembly;

FIG. 15 is an illustration of an insert designed for fitting into thebase of the carton of FIG. 12;

FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view of the spacing between the top of onecarton and the bottom of another stacked one above the other;

FIG. 17 illustrates another embodiment of the carton according to theinvention utilizing six disk-shaped profiles on a longitudinal side;

FIG. 18 and FIG. 19 show other embodiments of cartons utilizing threedisk-shaped profiles on a longitudinal side;

FIG. 20 is a cross-sectional view of the disk-shaped profile secured tothe carton; and

FIG. 21 illustrates a further embodiment of the carton utilizingdisk-shaped profiles.

Referring to FIG. 1 there is shown an embodiment of a rectangularcollapsible carton having ventilation openings 6 along longitudinal side4, and openings 7 located on the face of transverse side 3. The bottomside 1, as well as longitudinal side 4 and transverse sides 3, includewedge-shaped profiles 5 on the exterior of the carton walls whichproject outwardly from the plane of the walls so as to serve as spacerswhen the cartons are stacked for shipment. Profiles 5 are integrallyformed within the body of the carton and are pressed outwardly as shownin detail in FIG. 2, within the corrugated material comprising thecarton. Profiles 5 in this embodiment have a V-shapcd cross-sectionprojecting outwardly to make contact, and serve as spacers toneighboring cartons.

FIG. 3 illustrates another embodiment of the carton having ventilationholes 6 and 7 along the longitudinal and transverse sides and includinga plurality of longitudinally-spaced rounded profiles 5 integrallyformed within all of the sides.

FIG. 4 illustrates in detail a view of one of the sides showing profiles5 as semi-circular ridges which project outwardly from the plane of thecorrugated side wall.

FIG. 5 discloses a still further embodiment of the carton according tothe invention including ventilation holes 6 and 7 along the side walls,and having a plurality of dimple-shaped profiles integrally formedwithin the side walls. The dimples, as shown in detail in FIG. 6, arehemispherically-shaped projections pressed outwardly in the corrugatedmaterial forming the side wall of the carton. The top wall surface ofall of the above-described cartons also includes one or more rectangularslots 28 disposed in its center portion.

FIG. 7 illustrates the pattern formed by the flow of ventilating airacross and through the cartons according to the invention when stackedproperly for shipment. As shown by the arrows, the air travels uniformlyfrom the high-pressure side to the low-pressure side of the hold of aship. Because of the close stacking of the cartons, there is noappreciable loss of space between the cartons in the transport vehicle.The ventilation areas between cartons allow a sufficient amount of airto reach all of the cartons so that there is no danger of undcrcoolingor drying out the fruit while it is under shipment.

Referring to FIG. 8 there is shown another embodiment of the cartonaccording to the invention wherein the sides of the closed cartoninclude lenticular profiles which project outwardly therefrom to formventilating spaces between cartons. The carton according to theinvention is comprised of an upper and lower section constructed fromcorrugated carton cuttings as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, and an insert asshown in FIG. 11, that serves as a spacer within the carton to protectthe fruit.

The cutting shown in FIG. 10 consists of rectangular transverse sides3a, 3b and longitudinal sides 4a, 4b and upper sides 2a2d, defined bycorresponding folded edges 8 to 15. Folded edge 18 defines fold tab 16.All parts of the cutting of FIG. 10 forming the external sides 26, 2d,3a, 4a, 3b and 4b or the carton contain lenticular-shaped profiles 5.The cutting of FIG. 10 is bent around folded edges 8, 9, 10 and 11 untilparts 16, 3a, 4a, 3b and 4b are at right angles to each other. Fold tab16 is then fastened to the formed rectangle on longitudinal side 4b atthe position shown in dotted lines. Vertical parts 2a and 2b are thenfolded down to a horizontal plane. Upper sides 20 and 2d are bent to thehorizontal plane. Overlapping parts 2a at the bottom, above 2c, and 2d,and 2b at the bottom, above 20 and 2d, are fastened by glue or metalclamps. In a similar manner, the cutting shown in FIG. 9 for the lowercarton is folded to form the said lower carton. Outer sides and-1d arealso provided with profiles 5. e

' The cutting for the insert shown in FIG. 11 is'bent at right anglesalong folded edges 26 and 27 and -is'the'n pressed into the lowercarton, so that part-'25 forms asecbot-tom over parts 1a, 1b, 1c and 1dand wall 25b engages wall 4", and wall 25a engages wall 4. After thelower carton has been made from the cutting ofFIG. 9*and'the insert ofFIG. 11 has been pressed therein, the upper part made from the'cuttingof FIG; 10 can be slipped overthe lower. carton so as to be ready to befilled with bananas. FIG. 12 shows'another embodiment of a bananatransport carton according to the invention with a pluralityof'ventilating openings 7a and 7b, 26 and 28a, 28b, and having'aplurality of profiles 5 projecting along its sides.

Upper sides 2a and- 2b do not in'this embodiment extend to the center ofthe cartonand thus form an upper rectangular opening 280 defined by theedges of sides.2a', 2a, 2b and 2b. On transverse sides 3a, 3b, largerair openings 7a, 7b are provided and serve-simultaneously as carryinghandles. 1 p I FIG. 13 shows the cutting for the lower carton. FIG. 14shows the cutting for the upper carton and FIG. 15 illustrates theinsert for the lower carton. The insert cutting includes aside from thelarge air holes 6, numerous small perforations 29 as additional airholes. In the cuttings of FIG. 13 and FIG. 14 from which the carton ofFIG. 12 is constructed, lenticular profiles 5 on transverse sides 3a and3b, longitudinal sides 4a and 4b, upper sides 2a and 2b, and lower sides10 and 1b are offset sufliciently so that when the cartons are stacked,the profiles of the adjacent cartons do not engage. This permits aparticularly rigid stacking to be obtained and provides sutficientventilating channels for the cooling air to circulate.

FIG. 16 shOWs the engagement of profile pieces 5 on the lower side andupper side of two cartons when stacked above each other. Since theprofiles are offset they do not substantially touch each other when thecartons are stacked.

FIGS. 17, 18 and 19 show another preferable embodiment of the improvedbanana transport carton. In this case profile pieces 5, of disk-shapedmaterial are fastened on the outer side of the carton. In the embodimentof FIG. 17, sides 2a and 2b each contain three round diskshaped profiles5. The transverse sides have four similar round disk-shaped profiles.Air holes also serve as carrying handles in the transverse sides.

FIGS. 18 and 19 show a similar embodiment wherein transverse sides 3aand 3b and longitudinal sides 4a, 4b each include only three disk-shapedprofiles 5.

FIG. 20 is a cross-sectional view illustrating how diskshaped profiles 5are constructed. Three corrugated disks are stacked one upon the otherand fastened to the exterior wall of the carton by means of a clip 30.

An embodiment of particular economic interest results if the wasteobtained from punching air holes 6 into the carton web is collected andapplied as profiles 5 as shown in FIGS. 1719. In this case about one tofour small disks stacked one on top of the other to construct profilepieces 5. For cartons which have no special air holes, the cardboarddisks must be specially made.

It is sufficient to provide on upper sides 2a, 2b, lower sides It: and1b, at each corner, and on both sides of the center, a round profilepiece 5 consisting of one to four joined round disks of the punchingwaste. On the two longitudinal sides 40, 4b, three profile pieces areused in that form as shown in FIGS. 17 and 18.

FIG. 21 shows a further preferable embodiment of the invention. Profilepieces 5 are arranged on upper side 2a, 2b and lowed side 1a, and 1b,with three pieces each, while the longitudinal sides 4a, 4b have twoprofiles 5 each of which are arranged in the center between the outerside of the carton and air hole 6 as a disk-shaped round card.Transverse sides 3a, 3b, each have only two round disk-shaped profiles5, approximately halfway between the outer edge of the carton and thelarge air opening 7a and 7b respectively.

Profiles 5 may be secured to carton walls 1a, 1b, 2a, 2b, 3a, 3b, 4a, 4bwithsimple clamps 30, with fastening clamps provided with profile heads,or simply by glueing. If the round disk-shaped profiles 5 consist ofdisks of corrugated cardboard obtained from the punching waste when airholes 6 were made, or were specially made for usewith closed cartons,profiles 5 are preferably fastened on the outer side of the carton wallsin such a manner that the profile pieces touch each other when stacked,so that the ventilating channels formed correspond to the double heightsof a profile piece 5.

While only a few embodiments of the present invention have been shownand described, it will be understood that many other changes andmodifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit andscope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

I. A carton for transporting and ripening fruit comprising:

a collapsible cover portion having a pair of transverse sides, a pair oflongitudinal sides, and a top side,

a collapsible bottom portion for engagement with said cover portionhaving a bottom side and adjoining lower walls,

profile means disposed on all sides of said cover and bottom portions,said profile means projecting outwardly from the planes of said sides.

2. The carton as recited in claim 1, wherein said profile means isintegrally formed within the sides of said carton.

3. The carton as recited in claim 2, wherein said profile means includea triangular cross-section spaced intermittently on said sides.

4. The carton as recited in claim 2, wherein said profile means includea square cross-section spaced longitudinally along said sides.

5. The carton as recited in claim 2, wherein said profile means includea rounded cross-section spaced longitudinally along said sides.

6. The carton as recited in claim 2, wherein said profile means includea hemispherical cross-section spaced intermittently on said sides.

7. The carton as recited in claim 2, wherein said profile means includean elliptical cross-section spaced intermittently on said sides.

8. The carton as recited in claim 2, wherein said profile means includea lenticular cross-section spaced intermittently on said sides.

9. The carton as recited in claim 2, wherein said profile means comprisecylindrically-shaped cardboard disks secured to said sides.

10. The carton as recited in claim 1, wherein said bottom side nicludesventilation openings.

11. The carton as recited in claim 1, wherein said upper portion isintegrally formed from a single piece to include the transverse sides,the longitudinal sides and the top, said lower portion is integrallyformed from a single piece to include the bottom and adjoining lateralsides, said carton additionally comprising an insert piece for insertioninto said bottom portion, said insert piece being sufficiently wide tocontact at least two of said lateral sides.

12. The carton as recited in claim 11, wherein:

the transverse sides of said upper portion include ventilation openingsof sufiicient size to serve as carrying handles, said longitudinal sidesinclude ventilation openings, said upper sides forming the top thereofdefine a rectangular ventilation opening along their edges,

said lower sides, forming the bottom of said lower carton, define attheir center a rectangular ventilation opening,

said adjoining lateral sides include ventilation openings in alignmentwith said transverse side ventilation openings when said upper cartonportion is mounted thereover, and

said insert piece includes a plurality of ventilation openings andperforations.

13. The carton as recited in claim 12, wherein said profile meanscomprise a plurality of circular disks constructed from the punchings ofthe ventilation openings of said side walls, and secured to the sidewalls of said carton.

14. The carton as recited in claim 13, wherein said circular disks aresecured to said side walls in an ofiset manner so as not to contact oneanother when said cartons are stacked both vertically and laterally.

15. The carton as recited in claim 11, wherein said profile meanscomprise holding pieces positioned on said side walls to engagecomplementary recesses on adjacent cartons, said holding piecesmaintaining predetermined spacing between adjacent cartons to provideventilation channels therein.

16. The carton as recited in claim 11, wherein said profile meansadditionally comprise clamp means for securing said profile means tosaid side walls.

17. The carton as recited in claim 16, wherein said clamp means compriseat least one wire clip inserted through said profile means and securedto said side walls. I 18. The carton as recited in claim 11, whereineach of the sides forming the top of the upper portion include threedisk-shaped profiles, said longitudinal sides include six disk-shapedprofiles, said transverse sides each include four disk-shaped profiles,and wherein said ventilation holes included in said transverse side aresufficiently large to be utilized as handles for carrying the carton.

19. The carton as recited in claim 18, wherein said disk-shaped profilesare secured to said side walls in corresponding alignment with theprofiles of said adjacent cartons so that the ventilation channelsformed therebetween are twice the height of said profile means.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,917,506 7/1933 Deline 229-62,328,689 9/1943 Shofer 229 16 2,721,689 10/1955 Nye 229 10 3,297,1911/1967 Eastman 220 97 X DAVID M. BOCKENEK, Primary Eicaminer.

